1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting system for conveyor idlers, and more particularly to a system which allows operative cooperation between a standard conveyor idler, and a variety of different mounting brackets.
2. The Prior Art
Belt conveyors are used for transporting many different kinds of materials, and it is conventional to support such belt conveyors with a multiplicity of idler rollers, spaced apart along the length of the conveyor. The idler rollers support the belt, and the material supported thereon, and roll freely to allow the conveyor to transport the material with minimum friction.
Idler rollers are commercially available from a number of different manufacturers, but the differences in size and shape among such idler rollers, and the brackets which support them relative to the ground or floor below the conveyor, has made it necessary to have a supply of idler rollers for each different kind of bracket which is employed at a given site, in order to permit quick maintenance and/or repair, with a minimum down time of the conveyor.
Attempts have been made in the past to provide a mounting mechanism which allows certain idler rollers to be used with brackets for which they were not designed, but the success of these attempts has been relatively limited, and provide a variety of different components which must be kept in inventory by a conveyor operator who employs conveyors using mounting brackets supplied by different manufacturers. In addition, the previous attempts to provide for flexibility in adapting idler rollers to different bracket configurations have been relatively inflexible in the amount of leeway which can be given to position and placement of the mounting brackets relative to the idler rollers, and have generally not allowed for the use of idler rollers having preloaded roller bearings.